Perna, Laura W2023-05-222023-05-222005-01-012015-10-16https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/35135This study analyzes data from the NELS:92/00 to explore sex, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic group differences in the benefits that high school graduates realize from college. Sex differences in higher education benefits may be a source of observed differences between women and men in college enrollment and degree attainment rates. The findings also suggest that observed racial/ethnic and SES group differences in college enrollment cannot be attributed to actual differences in higher education's economic and non-economic benefits, as some benefits are greater for African Americans than for Whites and benefits generally do not vary by SES.Copyright © 2005 Association for the Study of Higher Education. This article first appeared in The Review of Higher Education Volume 29: Number 1 (2005), pp. 23-52. Reprinted with permission by Johns Hopkins University Press.Higher EducationEducationHigher EducationSocial and Cultural AnthropologyArticle